MEMORY VERSE: And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. 1 Samuel 7:40
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezra 1-5
BIBLE READING: 1 Samuel 17:31-40
David went to the battlefield to drop some foodstuffs for his brothers who had followed Saul to war. There, he heard Goliath, a Philistine, a giant and also a champion, harassing the armies of Israel. 1 Samuel 17:8-10 says, “And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array?am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” A holy anger arose in him; he volunteered to fight Goliath so they took him to Saul – probably to talk him out of it because he was very young. “There's no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win!” he said, “You're only a boy, and he's been a man of war since his youth.” Persistent knocking opens doors. David's persistence wore Saul down; at last, he gave him the go ahead. He offered him his fighting gears which David tried and found very uncomfortable. 1 Samuel 17:40 says, “And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.” God gave David victory over Goliath using ordinary sling and stones.
There are several lessons we can learn from this story. A familiar sling and stone is better than an unfamiliar sophisticated military gear. There is a saying where i came from: “a known devil is better than an unknown angel.” You know what to expect from the known devil. You know how he behaves and what to expect from him but with the unknown angel you have no clue. He could even be worse than the unknown angel. (NOTE: When we say a known devil, we are talking of human beings not satanic agents. An unknown angel of God is always better a known devil.) When attending to a critical matter especially those with little margin of errors, it is better to use a tool or employ an approach you are familiar with. I will rather work on a project with a group of average people i have worked with in the past and achieved success with than a group of experts i have never worked with. The familiar (sling and stone) is better than the unfamiliar (sophisticated military gear) because you know its strengths and weaknesses. That knowledge alone gives you an added advantage; you can work on its strength to your advantage. Besides, there is more to winning wars than having the latest sophisticated military gears or high-tech equipments. Weapons don’t always win wars; history proves this. Ecclesiastes 9:11 says, “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.” Brute force or bullying tactics don’t win wars. Zechariah 4:6 says, “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” One may plan and strategize but God decides the outcome of the war. Proverbs 21:31 says, “The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD.”
NOTE: David didn’t try to show off, he used what he was familiar with although they were old fashioned and achieved success.
PRAYER: Pray that peace will reign in Syria and other war torn countries.
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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world
